We have seen dozens of iPad and iPhone prototypes and even some Sony concepts last year at MWC, but Microsoft has been quite secretive with the development phases of its Surface tablet. Some of them are shown below, together with some accessories and in the following lines we’ll learn how the Surface came to be.

Microsoft faced a major challenge, the one of building its own hardware after failing with two portable products: the Zune and the Kin Phones. It all started with “Project Georgetown”", the codename for the Surface RT, that had two clear goals: the tablet MUST NOT leak on the web and it must only ship with Windows 8 is ready. Microsoft’s Panos Panay, the general manager of the Surface team was the brain behind this. All these details were revealed in a recent interview with The Verge.

The Surface started with the concept that users should be able to do more with this device than with its competitors. The aim was to get a thin and light device and early concepts had rounded backs and edges, but in the end the flat back and angled edges won. The idea was to prevent users from dropping the tablet. The team was very stressed about the protection of the device with a cover, wanting to keep productivity intact.

The magnet came in and saved the day and then the Touch Cover and Type Cover were born. More details and inside stories can be found in the source link, below.